During the game of table tennis, two players are positioned on opposite sides of a table and a ball is hit between the two players over a net. Often, when one of the players scores a point the ball travels to a location remote from the table, often becoming lost under furniture. When this happens the flow of the game is interrupted as one of the players must retrieve the ball before the game play can resume.
Several ball storage devices have been designed to be solutions to this problem, such as the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,414,431 (Chung) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,157,677 (Chen). However, each of these designs has drawbacks that make their use less practical. For example, the Chung et al. patent ('431) discloses a ball storage and holding device that is located along the bottom of the ends of the table tennis table. This location is convenient for a player to remove a ball for use, but the location can create interference with the player while they are playing as the device reduces the amount of space located below the end of the table. This change may not be expected by the user, resulting in the user's leg coming into contact with the holder, which can disrupt play or possibly even cause injury.
The Chen patent ('677) does not share this drawback with the Chung et al. patent ('431) because the Chen holder is located on the side of the table. The holder is affixed adjacent to the net, which is located at the midpoint of the table, and can be used to hold both balls and paddles. This storage device is useful to hold loose elements that are used in the game while the game is not being played. However, a device that stores the balls at a location close to the net is not practical for use during a game. The flow of play would not be consistent if players had to reach all the way up to the net in order to get another ball to serve at the end of a point, as service occurs at the edges of the table rather than near the net. This solution would not be much more efficient than playing the game without a ball holder and retrieving the lost ball after each play. Therefore, although the holder disclosed in Chen will not create interference based on its location, it is not practical for use for ball storage during a game.
What is needed is a ball storage device that is convenient for use during a table tennis game, but does not create interference with the player while the game is being played.